Nixon, Walker & Chapin on National Park Service and Congressional relations

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I just don't want places built all around the world for

or the United States or administration people.

I mean, the main aim of this and that is members of Congress and the rest of it will sag out and just not hold at all.

I mean, cut it down, you know, just strip it up.

And just run on right.

Just run right through it.

Well, I think facilities are available to, you know, but we can find all these hangouts for people that are alive.

Oh, it's awful.

I didn't know that.

I just got to check them all over.

Expose everything you possibly can as a version of the Economy Move.

Expose everything, even though it means that, you know, you're going to be cutting, you'll be cutting Congressman Manning, right?

Yes, that's right.

Senator used to have been offline.

Michael used to have been offline.

Our side has made our number of friends and done it.

What do we have to say as the Economy Move?

We have to cut those out, but if you don't cut anything out, we'll cover it.

Public thing, but it is right to have these goddamn congressmen have this.

special reserves to go rushing around the state and all these places.

I mean, it's because they're managing committees.

But I say to them, use your judgment.

Of course, we have to have some.

But I think the idea of maintaining things for the private use of Congress is a scandal.

We want to just transfer it to the other thing.

I look them all over and I don't believe in terms of the, in terms of just telling the people and then in parts of the minutes just some of the goodies are going to have to go for the individuals in order for the people to have that.

So I feel like that of course is important.

You've got to go on with it.

I didn't even explain it to him.

participating in something that's very good in the sense of seeing our available funds are used for people and not for, you know, the private needs.

They want it.

It's got to be done.

It's like the defense of arms is saying, well, you know, they've got all sorts of other issues.

I'll sit you around.

And apparently they're going to try to get some of that done.

It's just got to be done.

we've got an awful lot of them uh people have said they've indicated maybe that despite the fact that they you know the girls

We still haven't done PR since coming to the cross as much as Johnson did with that half-assed duplication thing at hers.

Part of the problem is that we haven't, perhaps it's not because there's too much traffic there at the cross.

Part of it is that we haven't done the same deal.

What do you think?

I think you've done a beautiful job, sir.

But I mean, what I mean, what do you think about getting it across, though?

I think we can get it across.

It's going to take some PR.

George Harsine was a very close friend of mine because, had he served as Secretary, he would have been ousted from the administration.

But he was doing it for his own good.

He had no desire to do anything for you or for the administration.

Well, he was in that.

He was appointed by him.

You don't think so?

He was a candidate.

He was a candidate or what's his name?

You don't know.

He's been there nine years.

He was a candidate in the administration.

That's right.

The media side of that problem was critical.

We never scored because of the media.

And it's going to have to be done through park service publications.

and going that route, and just do it independent of the media, and do it through the impressions made to the public.

Good.

And we can change all the procedures, state conservation organizations, state park organizations.

I was over there yesterday, and I was doing a bunch of pictures, and doing that read-on, so there was something there.

And here are all the publications.

With all the letters you wrote, it wasn't even a picture of you.

Yeah.

See, that's the type of picture.

Really?

That's it.

What does that guy got to do with the show?

I think he's supposed to be a pretty good man, Mr. President.

I understand exactly what you're driving at, but why didn't you do something?

That's ridiculous.

Sure, that's just the way they've done it.

They push for themselves, and they don't do anything for the administration, and now it's going to be the other way around.

The thing that the Kennedys particularly did well, like Johnson's, who molested the Kennedys and all that, that the Kennedys could do, they didn't do anything good.

Everything was related to everything that was good at the office of the president.

They have to be asking me not to build up the Kennedys' opposition, all the rest, and the people out there.

So we sort of like a little bit of this and we can come along with it.

Mainly you can run a good show.

And there are a lot of good people in the partnership.

They're very dedicated people and they really love the work and all that.

But I think they don't like this.

I'm sure they cannot like these goddamn places that are maintained for congressmen to go and shack up with a few girls.

Now that's what they're using those for.

I know.

I know that.

I know Coca-Cola and these others are just terrible.

You know what I mean?

Sure, they're not all that luxury, but it's just not right for them to have that little thing available.

And why should you pay the staff to do it?

Why don't you pay the staff to have people have a, you know, I'd say the ones that you've got, convert them into whatever you can.

Take a look at this one.

Have you ever seen Coca-Cola?

That's what I've heard about it.

I'm John Wiggins.

Why don't you go look at it?

Take the proposal and just take a look and see how long it's been.

It's a great historical monument.

It should be preserved.

The idea of just a few people going down there is to spend the night having a staff member remember.

You know, a Boy Scout drill driver's coming down.

You know, things like that.

It's up to you to do some, try to get some imagination to thrive and promote some young people, you know,

And particularly to find out, you've got to work your way in and find out who the hell there are along those lines.

And you know how to do that.

And you know how to find ways to handle it.

You've got to be very careful that way in not making senators and congressmen do bad things.

But, uh, you can find it easy.

Well, I appreciate it.

Well, it's very much hard to talk about that, honestly.

Well, I'll do a very good job.

I can't really do it like you've been advancing.

You didn't have too many.

You didn't have too much.

You had a small lot of people.

We did an awful lot.

I was in the service.

I was a bad pastor.

The service was a great job.

And what we did have, we did all the work of our...

The Ontario piece, I think.

That was a big one.

It was a nice one to finish on, wasn't it?

Well, actually, the Gratesboro piece was huge.

The way it worked out.

It was huge to me, and I'm very proud of it.

Well, I think it's a nice piece.

When I say it, I don't mean they all need to go.

I just mean to put it down, and that it can't be justified in comparison.

It's sad, but it's the name of my knowledge, so don't blame me.

And those goodies are going to be more for the public at large, less for just the elite members of the committee.

Okay.

All right.

Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Nixon, Walker & Chapin on National Park Service and Congressional relations

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on December 13, 1972

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